Surrey Police unveil £7.7m Salfords custody suite

State-of-the-art facilities will allow better management of detainees, police said

A £7.7m police custody suite with the latest surveillance equipment will open in Surrey on Monday.

The 24-cell facility in Salfords will replace a 12-cell building in Reigate.

Surrey Police said Salfords was the best location to serve East Surrey in terms of location and fulfilling operational requirements.

Plans were initially rejected by Reigate council before the force scaled down the number of cells.

Open day

After Reigate council refused planning permission in 2011, Surrey Police lodged a successful appeal with the Planning Inspectorate after reducing the number of cells from 30 to 24.

Opponents of the plan had feared the centre would increase traffic and crime.

An open day was being held on Saturday when members of the public could view the custody suite and ask questions.

Supt Ali Barlow said: "The new custody suite at Salfords will help ensure officers from East Surrey are providing the best service to residents on this side of the county as the state-of-the-art facilities will allow better management of detainees and enable officers to which will enable officers to quickly return to duty."